T-Mobile USA announced today that it has a new chief executive – John Legere, the former chief executive of Global Crossing, a network provider that was sold last year.
Legere, 54, starts his new job Sept. 22, taking over from interim CEO Jim Alling, who is returning to his position as T-Mobile’s chief operating officer. They replaced Philip Humm, who resigned in June after two years in Bellevue to take a job at Vodafone.
Bellevue-based T-Mobile is the nation’s fourth largest wireless company and employs around 36,000 people, including around 4,800 in the Puget Sound region.
Legere arrives as T-Mobile is in the midst of a massive network upgrade to 4G LTE technology and simultaneously overhauling its business operations, following a failed merger attempt with AT&T last year.
Legere began his career at New England Telephone in 1980 then spent much of his career at AT&T, including stints as president of its Asia operations and its outsourcing business. Later he worked at Dell, where he was president of the company’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“John is a talented and proven executive who brings a successful track record of leading and operating consumer- and business-focused telecommunications and technology companies,” Rene Obermann, chief executive of T-Mobile’s parent company Deutsche Telekom said in a release.
“As T-Mobile moves forward with its strategic initiatives to improve its market position, including expanding its network coverage and initiating LTE service, John has obviously the right skillset to lead the business into the future.”
Legere is a competitive runner — like Humm — and a Massachusetts native who received degrees from the University of Massachusetts and MIT.